To clarify, a "soft landing" is "the landing of a space vehicle on a celestial body or on Earth in such a way as to prevent damage or destruction of the vehicle." Simply put, it's the opposite of a crash landing. What makes a landing on the far side of the Moon especially difficult is that it's tougher to keep contact with the spacecraft, since, you know, there's an entire celestial body blocking the signals between the craft and mission control. To remedy this, a relay satellite (named "Queqiao") will be put into orbit to aid Chang'e 4 in landing and transmitting data back to Earth.

According to SpaceNews.com, the landing site has already been chosen: "The Chang'e-4 spacecraft will target a landing region within the South Pole-Aitken Basin, a vast impact crater of immense scientific interest, with potential landing areas previously identified in and around the Von Kármán crater." Interestingly, the rover's payload isn't restricted to cameras and instruments: it'll also be carrying potato seeds, silkworm eggs, and seeds for the flowering plant arabidopsis which will, hopefully, create a tiny ecosystem for scientists to study.

It's been announced that there will be a contest to name the rover (ending September 5th) but – like the naming contest for Queqiao – it's unlikely to be open to English-speakers... Which is probably for the best, considering the masterminds behind "Boaty McBoatface" are still out there.